Hobbs's free throw lifts Bayern past Lietkabelis

FC Bayern Munich remained undefeated in the 2017-18 7DAYS EuroCup by edging Lietkabelis Panevezys 87-88 in Group C in Lithuania on Wednesday. Bayern, which had already qualified to the Top 16, improved to 7-0 in the standings and needs a win in any of its remaining games to clinch first place. Lietkabelis dropped to 3-4. The game came down to the final seconds; Braydon Hobbs drew a foul with 3.1 seconds left and hit the game-winning free throw. Lietkabelis had a final shot, but Zanis Peiners missed from midcourt at the buzzer. Milan Macvan led the winners with 19 points, Nihad Djedovic added 14 and Danilo Barthel had 11 for Bayern. Adas Juskevicius paced Lietkabelis with 21 points, Ksistof Lavrinovic added 16, his twin brother Darjus had 13 and Lorenzo Williams got 10 points and 8 assists for the hosts.

Juskevicius got Lietkabelis going with a three-point play, but Jared Cunningham and Macvan soon gave Bayern its first lead, 3-5. Darjus Lavrinovic followed a triple with a layup-plus foul and Juskevicius struck from downtown to put the hosts in charge, 12-9. Reggie Redding scored in penetration and Barthel added a layup and a three-pointer, but Ksistof Lavrinovic tied it at 17-17. Maik Zirbes and Barthel gave Bayern a 19-20 lead after 10 minutes. Simas Jasaitis shined with a fast break layup and another triple by Juskevicius made it a 4-point game. Alex King had 5 points in a 0-7 run that he capped with a jumper, but Gintaras Leonavicius and Williams restored a 29-27 Lietkabelis lead. Zirbes scored twice in the paint and Cunningham added a jumper, but a dunk by Vaidas Cepukaitis and a buzzer-beating layup by Darjus Lavrinovic kept the hosts ahead, 34-33, at halftime.

Cepukaitis followed a put-back layup with a dunk right after the break, but Devin Booker hit a triple and Macvan struck three times from beyond the arc to give Bayern the lead, 43-45. Darjus Lavrinovic hit a turnaround jumper and Peiners added a layup and a dunk off a steal, but Bayern kept connecting from downtown - Djedovic hit back-to-back triples and Hobbs added another for a 54-56 lead. A layup by Zirbes and a corner triple by Ksistof Lavrinovic made it 57-58 through three quarters. Ksistof Lavrinovic stepped up with a layup and a jumper, as Lietkabelis found its rhythm from downtown; Williams hit one and Juskevicius added back-to-back threes off screens for a 70-66 lead with less than seven minutes left. The hosts were held scoreless for more than three minutes, however, while Djedovic had 6 points in a 0-9 run that put Bayern ahead for good, 70-77. Back-to-back three-pointers by Zygimantas Skucas kept Lietkabelis alive though free throws by Hobbs seemed to seal the outcome, 83-87, with 13.7 seconds left. Ksistof Lavrinovic followed a big basket with free throws to tie the game, but Hobbs drew a foul with 3.1 seconds left and split free throws for an 87-88 Bayern lead. Peiners missed from midcourt at the buzzer.

Head Coaches

STALBERGS, ARTURS

Lietkabelis Panevezys

“This is a tough lost which really hurts. Most of time we controlled the game. We played good defense, but made too many fouls. I told my players that I am proud of them. I am proud of how we bounced back from recent loses. I happy with their energy and attitude. We have to move on and most important is to keep our heads up. It’s not an easy time for, us but I am confident in my players that this lose will make us stronger. It’s not a tragedy and everything is in our hands.”

DJORDJEVIC, SASA

FC Bayern Munich

"It is always better when you win. Still, we should have - and could have - closed the game earlier by playing smarter. Maybe our most experienced player made the biggest mistakes in his career, we don't know why, but these things happen. It is good that we won the game. It was a tough game and a tough road trip, our second one in three days. I am happy for the win; a lot of three-pointers, it was a really good game."